The Pirate Speaks

“How to Bake a Cake from Scratch”

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Ingredients needed:

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature (may need more for pans)

3 cups all-purpose flour (may need more for pans)

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups sugar

4 large eggs at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups whole milk

Learning to make a cake can have its challenges. We are all used to just grabbing a box of cake mix and throwing it together. Sometimes, though, it is good to challenge ourselves by making a cake from scratch.

First, you should preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. After that, butter two 9-inch-round cake pans. You should line them with parchment paper. Then, butter and flour the parchment paper. With the molds done, you can begin to mix the ingredients together. Whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt until they are all completely combined. Then, beat the two butter sticks and the sugar in the bowl. The mixer should be put on medium-high until the mixture is light and fluffy. This should take about three minutes. Once the mixture is light and fluffy, reduce the mixer to medium and add in the eggs, which should be added one at a time. Beat in the vanilla extract after the eggs are also completely combined. After the vanilla is mixed in, beat the flour in the mixture with three batches. These batches consist of a third of the milk put in and then a third of the flour. Continue this until all the flour and milk is in the bowl.

When the mixture is completed, separate it into two equal parts. Put these two equal parts into the pans. This should bake for about thirty to thirty-five minutes or until lightly golden on top. When the cakes are done, let them cool in the pan on a cooling rack for ten minutes. After ten minutes, take the cakes out of the pans and allow them to be cooled completely.

It is not always easy to cook things the hard way, but it can be very rewarding. As Julia Child once said, “No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.” Try out this cake recipe, and you’ll be cooking like a professional in no time.